The Lottery
by Petals on the Snow
Summary: Every year, the village of Serum has a special lottery which goes hand-in-hand with what they believe to be their mission from God. This year the person everyone thinks is insane wins its very unique prize.. Warning: character death


_Hello everyone! Welcome to a very odd one-shot by me! It's kinda like my way of expressing an idea or belief I have, but in fantasy form._

**One-Shot: The Lottery**

It's time of year again. The local shopkeepers have started the lottery. It's such a shame, our legacy, is slowly being erased as the times change. The Eastern Ring have done the lottery for hundreds of years, but most of the area is dropping the tradition. They've dubbed it as being "too dangerous" so to speak. We, the residents of Serum, will never stop the lottery. It is just a way of life for us, nothing more.

I stood outside the candy store and waited for my friends to arrive. My back was leaned against the rough wooden walls of the store and small splinters broke through my black polo shirt. My head hung down and strands of my brown hair fell over my eyes. This sun was really bearing down on us today. Too bad nobody in town has an air conditioner. The elders believe in old-fashioned tradition, so technology isn't welcomed here. Sometimes I wonder if our society is crumbling. I mean, no technology and the lottery..it's almost creepy in a way. Maybe it's like the elders say, the world doesn't rely on themselves anymore. The ways of knowledge slowly possessing individuals and turning them away from mankind.

As I looked up, I also combed a few strands of my hair behind my ear. A small smile crossed my face when I looked down the dirt road and saw Yugi approaching. In his arms he carried a load of huge rocks. Poor guy, he was panting like a dog.

"Hey Yugi! Want any help?," I asked as he walked by.

He stopped in his tracks and looked up at me with his shining violet eyes. Wiping the sweat off his forehead he gave me a warm smile.

"Thanks for the offer, Téa, but only the males can handle the rocks. Remember?"

I looked away from him and sighed lightly, "Yeah I remember, I think it's stupid...it's just a rock, a female isn't going to kill herself over handling them."

Yugi chuckled a little, "I guess I know what you mean. You could walk with me to City Hall though, walking by myself is a little dull."

I stood up from my perch and brushed the giblets of wood off my back. With a sigh, I began my walk with Yugi. We stopped several times along the way to pick up more pebbles. I wondered to myself why we even bothered with the lottery. Sure it was a way of life, but an almost satanic one at that. The elders say we do it as a tradition, but something didn't feel right about it.

Looking down at Yugi, I frowned lightly, "Yugi, why do we even bother with the lottery anyway? Isn't it a little strange.."

He gave me a look that read "your insane". Why does everyone here think it's alright? It can't be. Something inside tells me that it isn't okay.

"Téa, you ask the same thing every year. The lottery is our call from God. We're making sure that this place understands the value of life. And you never know what you have until you lose it, got it?"

I nodded a little.

"I guess..."

I remained silent until we arrived at the little shack known as city hall. Outside of the small wooden building, all thirty residents of Serum began to gather. Yugi dumped his arm load of rocks into a stack outside the door and I stayed towards the back of the crowd. Everyone in town thinks I'm insane. Everyone, except for the Motous and Joey.

"'Ey TéTé!," Joey called as he walked over to me from the crowd.

"Hello Joey..."

He put on his usual goofy smirk and ran a hand through his messy blonde hair.

"Handlin' those stones is hard work! I wonder who'll win dis year?," Joey asked.

I gave him a sideways glance that spelled out doom.

"Just shut up, I don't even want to take place in this."

He cocked an eyebrow at me and scowled slightly.

"Té, wut is your damn problem?! You're duh only one here that hates dis!," he yelled down at me.

"Joey! Of course I do! It's death! We don't have the right to toy with someone's life like this! Am I the only one that realizes that?!," I screamed back.

"You're wrong Té...This our call from God himself. He spoke through the elders to tell us to keep life sacred..don't you EVER forget that," Joey replied in a whisper much darker than his regular voice.

I looked down and sighed. Maybe the villagers are right..I am insane. If God himself wants us to kill to keep life sacred and I disapprove..that's makes me one of Satan's kind. But, why does something right feel so wrong? No matter how hard I wish to embrace this idea, something keeps burning inside of me. Like a wild fire..it keeps telling me that this is wrong. That I'm the one who's right, not everyone else. Could that farfetched idea possibly be true?

What seemed like hours, but I'm sure was just a few minutes, a dead silence fell over the village. I felt extremely uncomfortable being around Joey as well. I'm starting to think that I need to leave. I need a home that accepts my views on life, whether they're wrong or not. This feeling inside is going to tear me apart if I don't get out of here soon.

"Hey Joe..after this "mission" is over..I'm leaving town," I mumbled as I looked up at him.

A spark of anger flickered in his brown eyes and he violently grabbed my shoulders. He started shaking me hard, yelling at me too.

"Téa, you are NOT leaving your home! If the outsiders found out of our practices we'd all parish! You hear me?!"

A few tears sprang up in my eyes. I couldn't fight back. I was trying my hardest to keep my tears and hurt inside of myself. It was a sign of weakness to show the world your softer side, I believed. It was also foolish to go up against a society whose views are totally different from your own then end up crying about it during the struggle.

"Joey, leave Téa alone," a strong voice bellowed.

It was Yami, Yugi's older brother, and my boyfriend. I immediately flashed a fake smile and my tears faded.

"Yami!," I cheerfully yelled.

"Hey TéTé," he greeted, "Are you okay? I saw Joey messing with you and thought that I needed to check on you."

I smiled at his concern. Yami is one of the few people that actually understand me. He doesn't think that this society is right either, but he doesn't tell everyone like I do. Yami also loves me, which is most certainly an odd feeling. Sometimes I feel undeserving, because if I am insane, I wouldn't want Yami to take the blame for it.

Soon I felt Yami's arm around my waist and everything in the world felt okay. I wrapped my arms around his neck and rested my head on his chest. His hand ran up and down my back in a rubbing motion then he stopped and sighed.

"The drawings are soon...," Yami growled.

My breath stopped and I nervously looked towards the entrance to city hall. It was hard to see over the crowd but I knew in my heart what was going on. A sudden hush fell over the crowd and a creak from the door could be heard as the mayor walked outside.

"Welcome, people of Serum! It's time for the annual lottery!," the gruff old man announced.

Suddenly I felt myself become weak and I dropped down to my knees. I was about to witness something horrid..and could do nothing. I felt so dirty and impure. I would rather die than see this. Like that was going to happen...unless..no..it can't be. I won the lottery...

Next thing I knew, Yami was holding me close to him and had a tight grip around me.

"I swear...they won't lay a hand on you..."

It was like my mind had shut down. I just stood there in his arms, not feeling afraid or anything. No thoughts of fear or anger. It was almost like my soul had disappeared and it was just the empty shell of a body standing there.

In a few seconds, I felt myself being escorted to the front of city hall by a two women in black robes. I have no clue how they tore me away from Yami, nor do I care. My life is about to end.

I hopelessly struggled and thrashed around, trying to free myself from their grip. I knew I was going to die, but I wasn't going down without a fight. I refused to just let society take my life as easily as others.

"Let me go! Dammit, I'm not going to die like this!," I hollered.

"Tis okay my child, God has chosen you to be the catalyst..you are the sacrifice to help others honor life..," one of the ladies said soothingly.

"You should feel special..not everyone is a sacrifice," the other replied.

"I don't give a damn! I'm sure that God doesn't want you to honor life by taking that one of another! That's fucking defeating the purpose!"

Soon, I was tied to a pole and screaming for freedom. It was all fruitless. The villagers grabbed their stones and had a little game to see who threw first. Tears swelled up in my eyes and I broke down crying. I had faced defeat in the worst way imaginable I felt. The thing I've been fighting my entire life, gave me death. Soon Joey smiled an insane smile and threw the first rock. Soon, a flurry of them hit my body and I collapsed into a thick black world. My death will arrive in just a few hours.

Even in the wake of their actions, I have forgiven them. No need to hold a grudge..it's so pointless. I was the insane one..I deserved this..

_Hikari Kitten_

_So...please tell me if you like it or not. I do accept flames, btw._


End file.
